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Hot Wheels: Hispano Suiza

The reborn Spanish-Swiss car has an entirely new body and, from its chiselled nose to its sloping rear deck, it's pure automotive theatre

Andrew Frankel

May 9 2010, 1:01am, The Sunday Times

The Audi heritage may be evident, but the resemblances are merely skin deep (Hispano Suiza)

After the successful reinvention of such great names from the past as Bugatti and Spyker, it was only a matter of time before someone twisted the ignition for Hispano-Suiza, a Spanish-Swiss car maker whose pre-war products were among the most luxurious, beautiful and coveted in the world — cars for the highest of rollers.

The man behind the rebirth is neither Spanish nor Swiss, however, but German. Erwin Himmel is a former senior designer at Audi, and his V10 supercharged machine was conceived in Munich. The cars will be built in Switzerland and marketed through an office in Barcelona — giving some claim to “Hispano” and “Suiza” authenticity.

Regardless — this car is a monster. At its heart are the aluminium bones of an Audi R8…